Wireless mesh networks are gaining popularity because wireless infrastructures are typically easier and less expensive to deploy than wired networks. The wireless mesh networks typically include wired gateways that are wirelessly connected to wireless nodes, or wirelessly connected directly to client devices. Many wireless nodes can collectively form a wireless mesh, in which client devices can associate with any of the wireless nodes. A gateway is a mesh access node that is connected to a backhaul connection. A cluster is a set of access nodes that select routing paths through a particular gateway.
Wireless mesh architectures are economical compared to the alternative wireless networks since they do not require running backhaul to every access node. Only a fraction of the access nodes require backhaul and these are termed gateways. The backhaul can take the form of a T-1 or fiber or point-to-point, or point-to-multipoint wireless links. One commonly used option is to deploy a few point-to-multipoint base-stations at tall buildings or elevated tower locations. Based on the availability of line-of-sight from these locations, a fraction of the access nodes can be connected to subscriber modules linking up to a base-station, thereby converting them to gateways.
After a network has been deployed with access nodes and gateways, it is desirable to have a method for identifying those access nodes which, if they were converted to gateways, would improve system capacity, end-user throughputs and balance the traffic loads across the network.